Syrian refugee camp, Deir Zanoun, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, April 19, 2022. (Credit: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters)
BEIRUT — The Lebanese Army announced Saturday that in the past week it arrested 43 Syrian nationals for illegally entering Lebanese territory or circulating without identity documents.
Announced in a press release, the arrests were part of a series of searches carried out since Monday in several refugee camps, notably in Deir al-Ahmar, Taybeh, Brital, Adous and Ersal, security sources confirmed to L'Orient-Le Jour's Bekaa correspondent Sarah Abdallah.
Security source also said the army also dismantled illegally installed solar panels and internet connection systems.
These actions among efforts to strengthen border control and implement strict measures to reduce the smuggling and illegal entry of Syrian nationals, the sources added, saying the measures had reduced illegal entries. The army is continuing its operations with the aim of eliminating them altogether.
State Security said Friday it had arrested five Syrian smugglers in Nabatieh, South Lebanon, who were facilitating Syria-Lebanon border-crossings at Wadi Khaled jurd in North Lebanon. For several weeks now, the army has been regularly publishing the number of Syrian migrants smuggled across and turned back at the border.
Lebanon has the highest ratio of refugees per capita in the world, according to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), with nearly two million Syrians on its soil, according to Lebanese official estimates. Nearly 830,000 migrants are registered with the UN.